


Love After Life

by Zanik_of_the_Dorgeshuun



Category: Runescape
Genre: Afterlife, Bittersweet, F/F, Happy Ending, Quest: Nomad's Elegy, Reunions, Sixth Age, dead lesbians trope made happier, god I loved those love letters, hopeful
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-12 20:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zanik_of_the_Dorgeshuun/pseuds/Zanik_of_the_Dorgeshuun
Summary: You hear about what she's up to, now and again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't managed to write RS fic in any sort of publishable state for months
> 
> but then [this](http://services.runescape.com/m=forum/forums.ws?341,342,333,65985724) happened, and now I can't _not_ write
> 
> _(I'm just so damn happy)_

Death holds his scythe in one hand; his other rests on the shoulder of a newly-lost soul, guiding them gently along. To any living being, this would be fatal. To the dead, it's a kind of comfort.

"Korasi," he greets you, his voice hollow and echoing and still with a certain warmth. It's not something you could have ever expected in life, but in your time in the underworld, you and Harold have become good friends. "I have someone you may wish to see. I believe this may benefit both of you." He leaves the soul with you, and floats a small distance away so that you can talk.

Souls can be hard to see at times. They fade, they flicker. This one's pulsing in and out a little -- but when he sees you, he becomes solid. His eyes widen. He _recognises_ you.

And you recognise him! "Squire Lorin?"

"Knight Lorin. Since last month."

"You made Knight? That was fast!" You remember the last time you saw him. A boy, not even into his twenties, itching to join the fight. You liked that quality in him, even though there wasn't much sense accompanying it.

"It took me four years," he says. It almost comes off rude, but then you realise he's probably just a little confused. Naturally. He _did_ just die.

Four years, though? You were never good with time, and here less so than ever, but it can't have been _that_ long. You try to remember how long Lorin was a squire before your death. A year? At most. Means you've been here three years, at least.

It _can't_ have been that long!

Lorin's shuddering. Looks like he's about to tear up. The soldier instinct in you wants him to pull himself together, but dammit, he's dead, you'll let him cry.

"I always looked up to you, you know," he stutters. "You were... you were brave, you were strong, you were a good leader! You died helping save the world. I..." He looks down at his fingers; they shimmer with ethereal light. "I guess I did too."

You give him a smile. "Rest easy, Knight Lorin. You did well."

At that, there's no holding back his tears any more. He weeps. You go to his side and reach towards him, a silent request for permission; he nods, and you clasp an arm around his trembling shoulders.

After a while, he speaks. "This is the afterlife?" There's still a wobble in his voice, but you can tell he's over the worst.

"Almost," you say. You gesture out over the River Noumenon: "The god Icthlarin marches you across this river, leads you through that door, then you're in the afterlife. I went through, but then I got brought back out again. Kind of a special case, me."

"A special case?"

"Yeah. There was some tricky business, someone was taking souls from the afterlife. Threatened its integrity. We dealt with him, don't worry."

He gives a shaky laugh, his bowed head lifting a little. "I'm not surprised! Are you ever _not_ saving everything?"

You laugh with him. You're usually one to downplay your achievements, but... he has a point there.

His breathing steadies. "So... everyone's through that door? Commodore Matthias? Ami and Diana? All of them?"

You're not sure, really. You wouldn't be surprised if some went to Limbo, had to lose themselves slowly before moving on. You _hope_ none of them ended up in Nomad's abomination. You never saw the thing, for which you're glad. Xenia describes it as a nightmare beyond belief.

"You'll see for yourself," is all you can say.

He takes your word for it, thankfully. Then his eyes widen: "Is... Is _Guthix_ in there?"

You've heard about Guthix's death. Talked to Harold about it. It shook you when you found out, and you know he mourns it too, but... you're still going, both of you. Can live up to his legacy, even if the god himself is no longer around.

"He doesn't have an afterlife." His breath hitches. "Sorry. Death over there explained it to me, that's just the way it is for gods. And it's a shame, but it doesn't stop us fighting, does it? As long as there's pests to fight and people to defend, the Void Knights will be there."

"I suppose you're right," he says. He's drooping a bit, but he's still solid. You're confident that he's not headed for Limbo... and that he'll be much better once he's reunited with the others.

And in the meantime, there are things you'd like to ask. "How are the Void Knights these days? How's... Commodore Tyr?"

"Doing alright," he says. "Leads us well. I was never really high enough in the ranks to know him personally, though."

You nod. "Fair enough. How's..." Oh Guthix, you're afraid to ask, but you _have_ to. You can't miss this chance. "How's Jessika?"

"She was a squire alongside me for a bit," he says. "No one was sure how to treat her at first. They knew she'd caused the deaths of the old Commodore among others, people we'd looked up to. But she knew it was a mistake, she was doing everything she could to fix it and help us. And you'd believed in her. You died for her. So... we tried trusting her. We gave her a chance."

"You made the right choice," you say. "Jessika... she made mistakes, but she only ever did what she thought was right. I respected that, even though I didn't always agree."

"And not everyone agrees with her now," he says. "But what she does works. She keeps researching as well as fighting, holding off the pests but looking for a way to free them too. From what I've heard, she's making progress." He remembers something else: "She moved up quickly, too. She's made Commander now!"

"Commander!" You throw your head back and laugh. "Commander Jessika. It rolls off the tongue!" Takes a lot to get you teary-eyed, but this might just do it. "That was the rank I was when we met. Dear Guthix, she has come a long way. And in less than four years..." _Commander Jessika._ You wish you could see it for yourself. "I'm proud of her. I truly am."

He alternates between looking at you and averting his eyes: "She... she told me. When we were both squires, not long after... yeah. She said, she said that... that she missed you. I don't talk to her much these days, she's always so busy, but... I think she still does."

No point in hiding it, not after your life's been and gone. "I miss her too. Plain and simple."

"Yeah." He hesitates. Deep breath in, deep breath out. "She loved you. You did too, didn't you?"

"I really did. Still do." Hurts to say it, but you have to be honest about this.

His voice is cracking: "So does she."

You're not sure what to say.

After a while of silence, what you do manage to say is: "I'm glad she's okay." And a little later, with a smile on your face: _"Commander Jessika..."_

You catch up a little longer. Old friends, new faces, and the role the Void Knights play in the Sixth Age (you're intrigued to hear about the formation of the Abyssal Knights, in particular). In the end, though, you can't talk forever. Harold sees Icthlarin with his latest cohort of souls, getting impatient on your side of the bridge, and comes over to the two of you.

"Your time has come," he tells Lorin.

He accepts it. The Squire Lorin you knew would've insisted on staying longer, but Knight Lorin's grown up.

"Will you ever cross over?" he asks you as he turns to go with Death.

"Someday," you say.

At first you were staying to deal with the aftermath of Nomad's scheme. Since then, you've helped deal with a few more: some inspired by him, others serving Amascut, still more simply attempting to carve out their own chunks of the Underworld. You don't think you've outstayed your welcome -- Death and Icthlarin appreciate your help, and Xenia's too. But it's clear to everyone what's stopping you making the crossing. Who you're waiting for.

For now, you wave him goodbye as he joins Icthlarin. You watch as he crosses the river and fades into the fog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come. This was going to be a one-shot... but then it grew.
> 
> Other chapters are probably gonna be shorter though. I say this now, but watch as they turn out 10k words each.
> 
> (this isn't canon to [the dotverse](http://archiveofourown.org/series/839862) btw. I have different plans for these characters in that)


	2. Chapter 2

"Harold tells me you had a visitor," says Xenia. She's sharpening her blade; you hear rhythmic metallic slices. "Lucky you."

"One of the younger Void Knights, lost in battle," you say. "It was good to talk to him. He was just a scrappy young squire when I knew him, but he'd come to make a fine Void Knight."

"Earnt himself a good rest, I presume," Xenia says between scrapes of her sword. "A shame he died young. But they'll remember him in his prime."

"I'm sure he had a warm welcome on the other side of the river."

Xenia tests her blade; it looks acceptably sharp, but she's not satisfied with 'acceptable'. She returns to work, drawing the file across the metal. As she does: "Did you get much time to catch up on the world of the living?"

"A while, yes. Probably more than I should have done. Icthlarin was getting impatient by the end of it."

"In that case..." She chuckles to herself. "How's life?"

"It's an interesting time to be alive in," you say. "He had a lot to say about the current direction of the Void Knights. They've allied with the Temple Knights again, and there's a new order called the Abyssal Knights formed from the two."

"With the Temple Knights?" she remarks. "Sounds dubious. You Void Knights stay focused on your pests; you keep people safe and don't meddle in business that's not yours. I've worked with Temple Knights on more than one occasion -- one of my finest protégés was among their ranks -- but at times they've gone too far for even my taste."

"I doubt the Abyssal Knights will be meddling any time soon. From the sound of it, they're focused on their own task."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"They say there's anima bleeding into the Abyss." 

Xenia's motions stall mid-stroke. She regards you warily: "Go on."

You're not sure what to think of that, but you continue. "Lorin never saw it for himself, but apparently it's forming fragmented copies of different worlds inside the Abyss. The creatures there are warping to mimic living ones, too, and those creatures are now at risk of spilling out into Gielinor through a pair of old rifts."

"Defending the world from creatures spilling out through a rift. Now that's a task for Void Knights if I ever heard one." Xenia still seems distracted; she's stopped still with her file on the sword, her eyes staring elsewhere.

You know this look. It's shame. Guilt. "What's on your mind?" you ask her. A little too firmly, perhaps, but you _have_ to be firm to get anything out of her.

"Something long since past," she says, and before you can press further: "Don't tell me all you talked about was current affairs. Surely you asked about the people left behind. About _her,_ " she needles, conspicuously returning to sharpening her sword.

Xenia's secretive about how she died, but the circumstances of your own death -- and who you died for -- are well-known. And Xenia knows exactly how to change a subject; you're already getting giddy again, merely thinking back on what Lorin told you. "She's made Commander," you say. "In not even four years! I expected a lot from her, but of course she's gone above and beyond anything I could ever have expected from her. I really couldn't be prouder."

"Commander Jessika, eh?" Xenia says, and even hearing those words out loud is enough to almost overwhelm you again. "From all I've heard, she sounds like an extraordinary woman."

"You don't even know the half of it!" There's so much more that could be said, but you lack the words to say any of it right now. Perhaps you'll say more, in time.

Xenia sets her file aside. "I'd like to have met her when we were alive. As it currently stands, I hope for her sake that we don't see her here for a good while."

That's a whole other story. "Dear Guthix, no. I hope she lives, I really do. The last thing I want is her getting killed for me..." You give a sad laugh. "Though that's probably hypocritical to say. Fact remains, though. She gets to live. She needs to make the most of it."

"That's the spirit." Xenia hesitates, then continues. "You know, you could always tell her that. The World Guardian comes by from time to time. Who's to say you couldn't get them to pass on a message?"

You've considered it before, of course, but you never wanted to give yourself false hope in case it couldn't happen. "Harold wouldn't allow it."

She won't take that for an answer. "Have you _asked_ him?"

You both know what the answer is. You try to steady yourself. You can't bear the prospect of the answer being "no"... but you can't avoid facing your fears any longer. You have to take this opportunity.

Xenia holds up the sword she's been working on. Now it looks sharp enough to draw blood even just brushing against its edge -- it would have drawn blood when she touched it just then, but she hasn't had a beating heart in years.

"Still not enough," she mutters.

"Don't you have any messages you'd like to pass on?" you ask her.

"No," she says, too quickly.

"Nobody?"

"No." She's firmer about it this time. "Now hurry up and speak to Death."

* * *

"This is not something I should permit. The balance between life and death is a fragile one, as you have come to know well."

For a few seconds, there is no sound but the crashing waves of the Noumenon.

"I would not do this for any soul who asked. Yet I have come to trust you, Korasi; my trust is not easily gained, but in all things you are faithful to Guthix's memory. I know that you respect the balance I maintain. As such..." He lowers the hand that holds his scythe, its base resting on the floor. "I will allow you one letter, and no more. One letter will not sway the balance too far one way or the other. My advice is to make it count."

With his words still ringing in your ears, you put pen to paper and write.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspirational message of the day: when you fuck up, just remember that, unlike Xenia, you haven't fucked up badly enough that you necessitate the founding of a new order of knights to deal with the consequences of your fuckup
> 
> (unless you have, in which case I'm kind of impressed)


End file.
